Disneyland‘s Haunted Mansion has reopened in its classic form after Christmas and an extensive refurbishment, and one of the ride’s characters has had a melancholy makeover.
The attic scene in the Haunted Mansion previously featured an axe-wielding bride named Constance Hatchaway, known for beheading her husbands. This storyline was introduced in 2006.
Now, the bride’s show scene has been redesigned to pay tribute to the Haunted Mansion’s original Constance Hatchaway from 1969.
The new version of the bride appears as a tragic, ghostly figure with a beating red heart. She floats in front of riders on Doom Buggies while holding a three-pronged candelabra.
Kim Irvine, Disneyland’s creative director with Walt Disney Imagineering, told the Los Angeles Times: “We thought, what if we change the story back a little bit to the original story that the Imagineers had about a lost bride in the attic mourning the loss of her husbands. It was a sad thing. It was a story about lost love.”
Irvine said the decision to update the scene was also due to “the sensitivities of people”. She told the Times: “The bride that used to be in there was an axe murderer, and in this day and age we have to be really careful about the sensitivities of people.
“We were celebrating someone chopping off her husband’s heads, and it was a weird story. I know the fans — some will like it and some will say, ‘Oh, you changed something again.’ That’s our job. That’s what we’re here for.”
Haunted Mansion renovations
In addition to a new storyline, the bride now uses the latest in projection technology, which allows her to levitate in front of guests.
The Haunted Mansion was closed for renovations from January 2024. It reopened in time for Halloween, and the updated experience around the dark ride debuted in November.
This includes an improved queue, expanded grounds, and the new Madame Leota-themed gift shop.
blooloop recently spoke to Daniel Joseph, executive illusions and effects development at Walt Disney Imagineering, about the first-ever Haunted Mansion-themed bar on the Disney Treasure cruise ship.
Images courtesy of Disney
